Chapter 1 The science of human development seeks to understand how and why people all kinds of people everywhere of every age change over time Three elements science people and change Developmental study is a science based on theories data analysis critical thinking etc It is multidisciplinary meaning scientists from many disciplines can contribute to our understanding Theory is a comprehensive set of ideas and hypothesis is a specific prediction that can be tested Empirical evidence is data that can be observable and verifiable Replication is repeating the procedures and methods of a study with different participants to produce valid answers that may or may not confirm their hunches and assumptions Sudden infant death syndrome SIDS where infants would suddenly die in their sleep It was found to be reduced if infants were to sleep on their backs Nature refers to the influence of the genes that people inherit and nurture refers to environmental influences including family school culture and society Nature Nurture debate questions how much of any characteristic behavior or emotion results from genes and how much from experience Both genes and the environment affect every characteristic Boys who were mistreated by their parents were twice as likely to be aggressive to develop conduct disorders to be violent antisocial and might commit a crime if and only if they had the gene for the low levels of the enzyme instead of the high MAOA version Certain versions of particular genes make it more likely for people to develop specific problems or specific strengths Inherited risk influence later behavior but the impact varies from ones place age and background Critical period is a time when something must occur to ensure normal development or the only time when an abnormality might occur Sensitive period is a time when a particular development occurs more easily EX Language Plasticity denotes two complementary aspects of development Human traits can be molded yet people maintain a certain durability of identity Early potential of plasticity doesn t necessarily work researchers found that genes training talents and motivation very early in life affected the child s brain and abilities Social constructions are terms constructed or made by a society Culture is the system of shared beliefs conventions behaviors expectations and symbolic representations that persist over time and prescribe social rules of conduct People of an ethnic group share certain attributes such as ancestral heritage religion and language Ethnicity is a social construct strengthened if other members of the same group are nearby or if other groups exclude the person Race is used to categorize people on the basis of physical differences appearances and skin color Dynamic systems is the idea that a change in one aspect of a person family or society affects all the other aspects Ecological systems approach says that developmentalists must consider all the systems that surround each person just as a naturalist examines the ecology of each organism Microsystems are elements of the immediate surroundings exosystems are local institutions such as school and workplace macrosystems are larger contexts including cultural values economic policies and political processes and mesosystem encompasses the connections between systems Macrosytem Exosystem Mesosystem Microsystem Cohort is a group who travel through life together experiencing similar circumstances The members are affected by the values events technologies and culture of their era Three domains biosocial includes biology and medicine cognitive includes psychology and education and psychosocial includes sociology and anthropology Biopsychosocial is the term that expresses the interaction of domains Mirror neurons are the parts of the brain that react to actions people see as if the people were actually performing the actions themselves Scientific observation requires researcher to record behavior systematically and objectively using behavioral definitions and timed data Independent variable is the treatment or special condition and may affect whatever is being studied which is called the dependent variable Purpose of an experiment is to find out whether an independent variable affect the dependent The experimental group gets the particular treatment while the control group does not Another research method is the survey where information is collected form a large number of people by interview questionnaire or some other means Quick and direct way to get data Cross sectional research studies a group of people of one age compared to a similar group of people of another age and is the quickest and least expensive way to study developmental change Longitudinal research collects data repeatedly on the same individuals over many years to record any developmental changes Cohort sequential research studies several groups of people of different ages and follow them over the years It allows researchers to compare findings between groups Correlation is when two or more variables are likely to occur positive is both variables tend to increase together or decrease together and negative if one variable tends to increase while the other decreases Correlation is not causation Quantitative research is numerical data that can be translated across cultures and applied to diverse populations Qualitative research reflects diversity and complexity but vulnerable to personal bias and hard to replicate Code of ethics is set of moral principles that each academic discipline and professional society has Institutional Review Board IRB is a group that permits only research following certain guidelines There must be informed consent of the participants and freedom to opt out of the research without penalty and scientists must offer a honest explanation of the results